Demon Deacons ready to see latest handy work

Published: Thursday, August 29, 2013 at 12:32 AM.

Entering a football season with renewed optimism after a late-season collapse a season ago, the Demon Deacons are anxious to show that past injuries and other shortcomings no longer need to be part of the conversation.

“Those things take a toll on you, especially when you’re not winning,” senior nose guard Nikita Whitlock said, referring to injuries and off-field distractions that rattled the Demon Deacons. “All it takes is one bad year and those things get fixed.”

So that leads to the opener against Presbyterian, which shouldn’t pose much of a threat to Wake Forest if the Demon Deacons’ house is indeed in order again.

They’ve vowed that better days are ahead.

“With this team, we’ve got some good senior leaders,” said Michael Campanaro, a senior receiver.

Coach Jim Grobe said he noticed in the weeks following the 2012 season that players with a year of eligibility remaining were rather uncomfortable.

Entering a football season with renewed optimism after a late-season collapse a season ago, the Demon Deacons are anxious to show that past injuries and other shortcomings no longer need to be part of the conversation.

“Those things take a toll on you, especially when you’re not winning,” senior nose guard Nikita Whitlock said, referring to injuries and off-field distractions that rattled the Demon Deacons. “All it takes is one bad year and those things get fixed.”

So that leads to the opener against Presbyterian, which shouldn’t pose much of a threat to Wake Forest if the Demon Deacons’ house is indeed in order again.

They’ve vowed that better days are ahead.

“With this team, we’ve got some good senior leaders,” said Michael Campanaro, a senior receiver.

Coach Jim Grobe said he noticed in the weeks following the 2012 season that players with a year of eligibility remaining were rather uncomfortable.

“In a little bit of a panic mode,” he said. “We had some teammates that were probably very disappointed about finishing 5-7 and not getting back to a bowl game.”

Grobe has been consistent and forthcoming about his irritation with last season, and that tends to lead directly into the mood for this season.

“Last year we were 5-7. We shouldn’t have been. We were better than 5-7,” Grobe said. “I don’t think there was as much grumbling from Wake Forest fans as there was from the coaches and players. It was very difficult for me because it didn’t look like one of our football teams at the end of the year.

“The way we ended last year didn’t sit well with anybody. There is a determination right now with our guys. I think they were embarrassed by the way the season ended last year. I think everybody, top to bottom, in the program feels we underachieved.”

So Grobe said he has tried to use the dismal part of the past season as a way to learn about what needs to be done for this season.

The players say they’re on board.

“You can sense around the team that we have a confidence in ourselves,” Campanaro said. “Everyone is ready to get this season going. Last season is behind us, and we’re just focused on this team.”

With Campanaro, quarterback Tanner Price and running back Josh Harris all in their final seasons, it means the Demon Deacons would be wise to take advantage of the experience they have at those skill positions. None of those players has been part of a winning team at Wake Forest.

“If you haven’t achieved as well as you thought you could the year before, you feel a little bit more motivated,” Grobe said. “Maybe from that standpoint, we have been there before. … It just feels we have got the potential to be a pretty good football team.”

Presbyterian at Wake Forest

When: 6:30 tonight

Where: BB&T Field, Winston-Salem

Series: Wake Forest leads 6-4-1, winning 53-13 in 2010 in the only meeting since 1945.

Extra points …

Wake Forest went 5-7 last season. Presbyterian was 2-9 and finished last in the Big South Conference. … Wake Forest senior receiver Michael Campanaro enters the season with 162 career receptions, making him the Atlantic Coast Conference’s active leader in that category. … A total of 22 true freshmen have played in Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe’s first 12 seasons on the job. Linebacker Ali Lamot, a 2013 Eastern Alamance graduate, isn’t listed on the two-deep depth chart for tonight’s game.